osborn



(No Model.) Minets-sheet 1.

F. G. OSBORN.

POWER TRANSMITTER.

2. 9 O0 II- .O r.. D.. A d e ...u n e .Tu a D.. m 2. 2 2 2 7 4 a N Nil I1-merlin?v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

P. C. OSBORN'. POWER TRANSMITTER.

No. 472,222. Patented Apr. 5, 1892.

l/[ZWESSES UNITED STATES FRANCIS C. OSBORN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF THREE-FOURTHS TO GEORGE MAITLAND, JOSEPH A. MARSH, RALZEMOND A. PARKER, AND

CHARLES F. BURTON.

POWER-TRANSMITTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,222, dated April 5, 1892.

Application filed November 14,1891. Serial No. 411,851. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANols C. OsBoRN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Machines for 'Iransmitting Power; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the iuvention, such as will enable others skilled in Io the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a means for transx 5 mitting power, and is designed to be used esy pecially in cases where it is desired to change from a high speed to a slow speed-as, for instance, where it is desired to employ an electric motor for car or carriage propulsion and zo itis desired to change the high speed of the armature to the slow speed of a vehicle-wheel. By the use of my invention this result can be accomplished without the use of offset shafting or any gearing except that which is directly on the axle oi' the driving-wheel or upon small pinions supported by and carried With the driven wheel, there being in this in-l vention no offset shaftiug whatever, and only one geared part which is not mounted either directly on the driven wheel or on the driving-wheel, the one excepted part being a ring concentric with the axle ofthe driven wheel. In the present application this invention is shown applied to the axle and Wheel of a car; 3 5 but it may be applied in any place where the same` result is to be accomplished-viz., that of reducing high speed to that of low speed.

In the drawings which accompany this specification the gear is shown as 4friction- 4o gear; but each of the intermeshing parts may, if desired, be provided with teeth with the same result.

In 'another application tiled by me (Serial No. 411,852) at the same time that this application was iiled are shown and described some of the features of the present invention. Figure 1 shows in elevation one wheel of a car-truck and the means of supporting the carbody employed when this invention is used to 5o give motion to the car-Wheel. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the wheel and lengthwise through the axle of the wheel. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, except that it shows a larger number of intermediate transmittingwheels. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of Fig. 3 55 lengthwise through the axle. In place of the ordinary truck resting upon axles I employ a frame-work consisting of vertical rings A, firmly held together by crossv bars L L. 6o

Con'centric to the ring A is an axle C, carrying at its outer end the t-ruck-wheels, of

,which one is shown at D. Upon the axle C is loosely sleeved a hollow shaft E, which constitutes the high-speed wheel and receives motion either directly from the source of high speed or indirectly through any proper means of transmitting motion. It would properly itself form the shaft of the commutator of the motor carried on the car. The wheel D car- 7o ries pins e fg, and these pins form the journals upon which are mounted pinions F G H. The pinions F G I-I are tangent internally to the ring A and tangent externally to the sleeve E. As the sleeveE is rotated it causes the pinions F, G, and H to rotate on their own axes, and as the pinions F, G, and H rotate on their axes they roll forward in the direction of the rotation of the sleeve E around the inner surface of the ring A and carry 8o with them the Wheel D and the axle C, the relative speed of the Wheel D and the sleeve E being the same as the proportion of the diameter ot' the sleeve E and the internal diameter of ring A. Externally the ring A may be of any desired shape. Vhen applied to cars,

it may be provided with extensions or ledges M M ,upon which or on recesses within which are received the strong coiled springs M M',

.on which the body of the car rests. 9o

The body of the car is indicated by the foreand-aft piece B, and the cross-tie B is held to the extension on the ring by means of the stirrup-bolts S S.

In the form shown in Fig. 3, in place of the three friction-Wheels of Fig. l there are six. Of course any number of friction-wheels can be employed that can be inserted between the sleeve E and the ring A. XVhere more than three are inserted, itis necessary that they too lap by one another, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The greater the number the friction-Wheels the more efficient is the result of transmitting motion from the rapidly-moving wheel to the slow moving Wheel. The friction- Wheels F G H each run loose on their respective journals to enable the sleeve E to crowd the pinions F, G, and H against the ring A. The principal function of the journals cfg is to prevent the pinions F, G, and H from escaping from their position shown in Fig. l, in which radial lines drawn from the center of C through the centers of F, G, and H form angles approximately of one hundred and twenty degrees at the center. W'ithout the journals c f g the pinions would still remain Within the ring A, but would no longer coinpel the rotation of the Wheel D. The Weight of the car is not borne directly on the axle, as in ordinary cases, but rests in the first instance upon the ring A, from which it is transmitted to the Wheel D through the pinions F G H and the journals ef g.

To prevent the car Wheel and axle from slipping endwise and carrying the frictionwheels F G H out of engagement with the ring A, I[he friction-wheels F G H may be provided with liangesyl 7o Z, adapted to runv along the side ot' the ring A, the wheel at the opposite end of the axle carrying friction-Wheels with anges that are on the opposite side of the corresponding ring.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as novel, and desire to have secured to me by Letters Patent, is-

1. A driving mechanism for vehicles, consisting of a ring fixed with respect to the truck and provided with supports to receive the vehicle-body, a running Wheel and axle concentric to said ring, a driving-sleeve concentric to the axle, and pinions loosely mounted upon journals supported upon said running wheel, the said pinions being tangent to the interior surface of the ring and externally tangent to the sleeve.

2. A driving mechanism for Vehicles, consistin g of a frame-Work'supporting a vertical ring, a running Wheel and axle concentric to said ring, a driving-sleeve concentric to said axle, and flanged friction-wheels loosely mounted on journals projecting from said Wheel and having'a frictional engagement between said ring and said sleeve, substantiall y as and for the purpose described.

3. A car-truck frame consisting of vertical rings held together by crossbars, in combination with a car-body resting upon said rings, running Wheels concentric to said rings, and friction or transmitting Wheels journaled to said running Wheels and tangent to the interior surface of said ring and externally tangent to a swiftemoving wheel concentric to the axle of said running Wheel, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. The combination of the ring A, the friction-wheels on the running wheel D, the axle C and fast-running wheel E, car-body B and supporting-springs m m', and stirrup-rods S S', substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence ot' tivo witnesses.

FRANCIS C. OSBORN.

Witnesses:

Enum I. Cnonr, CHARLES T. BURTON. 

